The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis is strongly affecting the psychological well-being of the general population. According to a very recent literature, the imposed lockdown and social distancing measures have generated a series of negative outcomes, including fear of the future, anxiety, and somatization symptoms. Few studies have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of parents and children, and still fewer studies have assessed the relationship between the psychological health of parents and children. The present study aimed at understanding the effect of parents’ psychological distress and verbal aggression on behavioral and emotional symptoms of children during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using an online survey administered in the first weeks of the lockdown in Italy, we explored the mediating effects of parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms on the relationship between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention in a sample of 878 Italian parents (87.4% mothers; meanage = 40.58). Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) parent distress would significantly predict child hyperactivity/inattention, and (2) parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms would mediate the association between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention. The serial mediated model confirmed both hypotheses, suggesting that higher rates of psychological distress in parents were associated with higher levels of hyperactivity/inattention in children. Parent verbal hostility and child emotional problems were also found to positively mediate this relation. Our results may be used to improve sociopsychological interventions in the general population in the near future. They may also contribute to the clinical definition of therapeutic paths for parents and families.

Daily Life Changes and Life Satisfaction among Korean School-Aged Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Another novel finding of the current study is that perceived parenting style did not differ between before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding may seem inconsistent with many findings, suggesting an increase in negative parenting behaviors [ 15 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 26 ]. However, this is in line with a few findings [ 28 , 29 ], supporting the possibility that parenting styles may be considerably stable and not easily affected by temporary stressful events or changes in external circumstances.…”

“…Spending more hours on childcare each day while managing their work remotely from home [ 24 ], along with other pandemic-related factors such as employment loss, financial insecurity, lack of help from external families, and a dearth of leisure time, may increase the risk of parental burnout [ 23 ]. Increased parenting stress can provoke negative parenting behaviors such as harsh parenting [ 21 , 25 ] and verbal hostility toward children [ 26 ]. Indeed, in a study, Korean school-aged children reported experiencing more conflicts, worries, and scolding from their parents during the pandemic [ 15 ].…”

Psychoeducational Challenges in Spanish Children With Dyslexia and Their Parents’ Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Children often have only their parents to provide support with homework (when necessary) and parents can become the central figure needed to promote a positive learning and developmental experience (Wang et al, 2020). Furthermore, parents of children with pre-existing psychological and behavioral difficulties are reporting problems with managing their children at home over this extended period (Colizzi et al, 2020;Marchetti et al, 2020a). Therefore, dealing with confinement and trying to balance factors such as personal life, professional responsibilities, and the education of one's child(ren) can be a stressful experience (Marchetti et al, 2020a,b;Mazza et al, 2020a,b;Spinelli et al, 2020).…”

“…Components of time (e.g., for how long has the child or parent been experiencing quarantine) and specific behavior (e.g., to what degree has "typical" educational conditions, such as in-person schooling, changed during quarantine) must also be examined to understand short-term and long-term impacts of quarantine. Although it is impossible to know for sure right now whether negative impacts of quarantine will improve or worsen over time, many have argued that psychological and educational impacts will worsen over time (Brooks et al, 2020;Gómez-Becerra et al, 2020), especially for those who are most economically, educationally, or psychologically vulnerable (Miranda et al, 2005(Miranda et al, , 2008(Miranda et al, , 2013Soriano-Ferrer and Contreras, 2012;Bonifacci et al, 2019;Asbury et al, 2020;Colizzi et al, 2020;Marchetti et al, 2020a;Smith, 2020;Iriarte-Redín et al, 2021).…”

The Cost and Benefit of Fear Induction Parenting on Children’s Health during the COVID-19 Outbreak

“…Domínguez et al (2020) further found that these context-specific parenting practices mediated the associations between children's emotion regulation skills and their maintenance of daily routines during the pandemic. Marchetti et al (2020) reported that parent distress during the pandemic was associated with child emotional symptoms through increased parent verbal hostility.…”